Preston saw the largest number of daily Covid cases in Lancashire and the city’s infection rate is continuing to decline.

New confirmed cases for Wednesday (17 February) showed Preston recorded 60 new cases. The highest of any district in Lancashire.

South Ribble saw 23 new Covid-19 cases for the same day.

Wyre was up by 15 cases, Ribble Valley by 15, Fylde up 12 and Chorley up by 34.

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Read more: Police give details on weekend Covid breaches including student halls parties and hot tub gatherings

Latest infection rates show Preston’s rate is now 238.2 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days to February 13, down from 331.9 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days to February 6. The city is still within the top 20 infection rates in England.

Data for the most recent four days (February 14-17) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

South Ribble’s rate is now 197.7, down from 303.3 for the same two date periods as Preston.

Wyre is now at 110.6, down from 186.5 and Fylde is at 132.5, down from 203.

Ribble Valley’s rate is 151.1, down from 202 and Chorley is now 181.9, down from 213.2.

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‘A cautious and prudent approach’ to easing lockdown

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeated that any easing of the lockdown in England will be ‘cautious and prudent’.

During a visit to a mass vaccination centre in South Wales the PM was asked whether the lifting of restrictions would be based on ‘data, not dates’.

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Mr Johnson said: “I do think that’s absolutely right.

“That’s why we’ll be setting out what we can on Monday about the way ahead and it’ll be based firmly on a cautious and prudent approach to coming out of lockdown in such a way to be irreversible.

“I know there’s a lot of understandable speculation in the papers and people coming up with theories about what we’re going to do, what we’re going to say, and about the rates of infection, and so on.

“I would just advise everybody just wait, we’ll try and say as much as we can on that.”

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